Zooplankton Diversity and their Seasonal Variations of Bhadra Reservoir, Karnataka, India

A study on zooplankton species abundance and diversity of Bhadra reservoir, chikkamagalur district, Karnataka, India was conducted to check the status in the area and provide new insights into its ecology. Samples were collected during June 2010 to May 2011. A total of 23 species were found in this reservoir. Among these, rotifers comprise of 8 species (22.78%), Cladocera 5 (22.17%), Copepods 3 (25.13%), Ostracoda 2(14.69 %) and 5 protozoan species (13.25%). Some of the dominant zooplanktons present throughout the year. The season wise zooplankton analysis showed an average abundance of species in winter, lower in winter and maximum occurrence in summer due to the different environmental and inflow characteristic s of the water body.